Eleanor Kuhns

When her father is accused of murder, Lydia rushes to Boston alongside Will Rees. Despite them offering to help prove his innocence, Marcus Farrell rejects their help. Things escalate when Julian, Marcus's brother, is killed. Is Marcus behind both murders? Can Will and Lydia solve the murders before the Farrell family tears itself apart?

Murder, Sweet Murder

Will Rees and his wife Lydia agree to accompany an old friend previously abducted by slave catchers to the Great Dismal Swamp. However, shortly after arriving in the community one of their number is killed. Will finds himself asked to solve the murder ... which proves tricky when no one there trusts him, and slave catchers are prowling.

Death in the Great Dismal

A first novel by an award-winning writer finds former soldier-turned-traveling weaver Will Rees tracking down his mistreated son to a Shaker settlement in late-18th-century Maine, where his efforts to reconcile are challenged by the murder of a young woman and dark community secrets.

A Mystery

A Simple Murder

Ancient Crete, 1450 BC. In a world of Goddess worship, sacred snakes and sacrifice, human jealousy, resentment, and betrayal still run wild . . . When her sister Arge drops to the floor in convulsions and then dies at her wedding, fifteen-year-old Martis, a young poet and bull leaper in training, is certain her sister was murdered. The prime suspect is the groom, Saurus, a barbarian from the Greek mainland, but when Arge's Shade visits Martis, swearing Saurus is not her murderer, Martis vows to uncover the truth. As Martis begins asking questions, she discovers that while her sweet sister Arge may have had no secrets, many of the people around Martis certainly do. but if the murderer is not Saurus, then who is it? The Egyptian lady who frequents the docks, one of Martis's other sisters, her father, or someone entirely different? Martis is in a battle against time to save her sister's Shade from eternal unrest and uncover the killer before they strike again . . .

In the Shadow of the Bull

Ancient Crete, 1450 BC. When young bull leaper Martis finds Duzi, the newest member of the bull leaping team, dead in the bull pen early one morning. Made to look like he met his end on the horns of the bull, it's clear to Martis that this was no accident . . . Martis once again finds herself thrown into a dangerous game of hunting down a murderer as the deaths start to mount. An old friend of Martis' sister, and possible lover to Duzi, is the next person to be found dead, and Martis' investigations lead her to believe love and jealousy are at the heart of these crimes against the Goddess. Is someone targeting the bull leaping community? Or is there something else at play? With only the Shade of her sister Arge to confide in, Martis struggles to untangle the growing web of secrets which stretch around her.

On the Horns of Death

Simply Dead

Will Rees is in Salem, Massachusetts, when a friend's betrothed is imprisoned for a murder he's sure she didn't commit. By the author ofCradle to Grave.

Death in Salem

The town of Durham is excited when the circus arrives... until the body of a young Shaker girl is found beaten. Growing weary of his farmland chores, Will Rees takes it upon himself to investigate but quickly becomes entranced by the lives of the circus performers. Is his longing for his old journeyman's life causing him to take his eye of the case?

A Circle of Dead Girls

Shortly after Will Rees and his family arrive at a peaceful Shaker community, a series of unfortunate accidents occur killing several people. The community want to believe nothing sinister is happening, but Rees thinks otherwise. When he begins having nightmares about his family's safety and a girl disappears, he must rush to find answers.

The Shaker Murders

Will Rees accompanies his wife to Boston to help clear her estranged father's name in this gripping mystery set in the early nineteenth century. January, 1801. When Lydia's estranged father is accused of murder, Will Rees escorts her to Boston to uncover the truth. Marcus Farrell is believed to have murdered one of his workers, a boy from Jamaica where he owns a plantation. Marcus swears he's innocent. However, a scandal has been aroused by his refusal to answer questions and accusations he bribed officials. As Will and Lydia investigate, Marcus's brother, Julian, is shot and killed. This time, all fingers point towards James Morris, Lydia's brother. Is someone targeting the family? Were the family quarreling over the family businesses and someone lashed out? What's Marcus hiding and why won't he accept help? With the Farrell family falling apart and their reputation in tatters, Will and Lydia must solve the murders soon. But will they succeed before the murderer strikes again?

Will Rees faces a moral dilemma when a slaveholder is murdered while attempting to recapture a former slave: should he pursue lawful justice or should he let the killer go free? November 1800, Maine. After helping their long-time friend Tobias escort his wife, along with a liberated slave and her child, from the Great Dismal back to Durham, Will and Lydia Rees’s lives are interrupted when a dead body is found near their home. The body is that of Mr Gilbert, a slaveholder from the Great Dismal. Was he murdered in pursuit of the former slaves? When it’s discovered Gilbert was infected with smallpox, and Gilbert’s sister arrives demanding justice and the return of her absconded slaves, Will is torn. Finding the killer could lead to the recapture of the former slaves. Letting them go free could result in a false arrest and endanger the Durham community. Will must make a choice . . .

Murder on Principle

Heading to New York to help a friend who has gotten into trouble for kidnapping five abused children, Will Rees and Lydia encounter more challenges than anticipated when the children's mother is killed and their friend is accused. By the award-winning author of Death of a Dyer. 25,000 first printing.

Cradle to Grave

A circus arrives in Durham in the 1790s and the whole town is excited... until the body of a Shaker girl is found beaten. 1790s. The circus has arrived in Durham, Maine. Before weaver Will Rees is able to take in its spectacle, he spots Magistrate Hanson – the man he blames for his family’s having to flee Dugard two years earlier. On his journey home he encounters Shaker brothers searching for a girl from their Zion community. Despite women not being allowed inside the circus, Leah had snuck out to visit it. They quickly come across her lifeless body beaten and thrown into a farmer’s field on the road leading to the circus. Bored of his household chores, Rees begins investigating at the expense of his home life. He becomes entranced by the lives of the circus performers, including the charismatic horse rider and tightrope walker. Is his longing for his old journeyman’s life causing him to take his eye off the case, and can he stay out of Hanson’s way and keep his family safe?

Circle of Dead Girls

Will Rees is back home on his farm in 1796 Maine with his teenage son, his pregnant wife, their five adopted children, and endless farm work under the blistering summer sun. But for all that, Rees is happy to have returned to Dugard, Maine, the town where he was born and raised, and where he's always felt at home. Until now. When a man is found dead - murdered - after getting into a public dispute with Rees, Rees starts to realize someone is intentionally trying to pin the murder on him. Then, his farm is attacked, his wife is accused of witchcraft, and a second body is found that points to the Rees family. Rees can feel the town of Dugard turning against him, and he knows that he and his family won't be safe there unless he can find the murderer and reveal the truth...before the murderer gets to him first.

The Devil's Cold Dish

A peaceful Shaker community is rocked by a series of bizarre accidents, but is there more to them than first appears? Fresh from facing allegations of witchcraft and murder, travelling weaver Will Rees, his heavily pregnant wife Lydia and six adopted children take refuge in Zion, a Shaker community in rural Maine. Shortly after their arrival, screams in the night reveal a drowned body ... but is it murder or an unfortunate accident? The Shaker Elders argue it was just an accident, but Rees believes otherwise. As Will investigates further, more deaths follow and a young girl vanishes from the community. Haunted by nightmares for his family’s safety, Rees must rush to uncover the truth before the dreams can become reality and more lives are lost. Yet can the Shaker Elders be trusted, or is an outsider involved?

Eleanor Kuhns

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